Two element binding



Feb. 19, 1963 M. D. LEVITAN TWO ELEMENT BINDING Filed April :50, 1959JUVEJ'YZUF MAUO/CE 0 LEV/TAN ijriited htates harbor 3,077,887 TWQELEMENT BINDHNG Maurice l). Levitan, Wilmette, Ill., assignor to GeneralBinding Corporation, Northbrooh, 111., a corporation of Illinois FiledApr. 30, 1959. Ser. No. 807,265 1 Claim. (Cl. 129-1) This inventionrelates to bindings and more particularly to bindings or bindingelements formed of flexible material such as those formed of a vinylresin, Celluloid or other plastic materials, as well as those formed offiber materials, including paper or the like.

More specifically, this invention is directed to a simple but ruggedmeans of interconnecting the backbone with a separate curled-comb memberin a two element binding.

Two element bindings have found wide acceptance in the binding fieldsince by providing a separate backbone and ring finger element the ringfingers can be inserted through the aligned perforations in a stack ofsheets to be bound much more readily when the backbone is not attachedto the ring fingers. After the fingers have been inserted through theperforations the backbone may then be fitted on the ring finger elementto secure the fingers in place and to thereby bind the sheets together.

Two element bindings heretofore produced however have generally been soformed that in order to connect the separate elements with one another,one had to slide the ends of the curled comb element into and along agroove or grooves in the backbone. In other words, the curled combelement had to be inserted in the groove or grooves at one end of thebackbone and then slid axially with respect .to the backbone from oneend of the backbone to the other.

I have devised a two element binding in which, on the contrary, theseparate elements can be connected together by merely snapping the combshaped element into place in the backbone.

Since the two element binding which is hereinafter described withparticularly does not require that the comb-shaped element be slidaxially into place in the backbone, binding machines of relativelysimple construction may be provided to secure the two elements of thebinding together. It will be understood that the usage of machines forthis purpose, in the past, was not feasible.

The two element binding to which the present invention is directedcomprises generally a substantially fiat backbone formed of flexiblematerial which has curved longitudinal edges. A channel member extendsoutwardly from and is formed integrally with the substantially flatbackbone and has an outwardly turned leg facing toward one of the curvededges of the backbone which cooperates with the curved edge of thebackbone to form a somewhat U-shaped channel groove.

The comb-shaped element has an elongated element or arm which is bentsubstantially at right angles along its longitudinal axis and which hasa plurality of spaced ring fingers formed integrally therewith andextending therefrom.

The outwardly bent portion of the comb-shaped element which, forconvenience may be referred to as a flange, may be extended into thechannel groove by flexing the curved edge of the backbone slightly.Thereafter, by arching the ring fingers the elongated flange will bewedged in the channel groove intermediate the curved edge portion of thebackbone and the channel member. By maintaining the ring fingers in thisarched position, the curved edge portion of the backbone will be underconstant flexure so that a tight friction grip on the combshaped elementwill be effected.

The ring fingers which are preferably formed by an injection moldingprocess are preformed in a curled shape so that after the finger elementhas been secured in the channel groove the outer free ends of thefingers can be laid on top of the backbone (that is on the inner surfacethereof) and such positioning of the outer free ends of the fingers actsto keep the ring fingers in an arched condition to wedge the comb-shapedfinger element in the channel groove.

It has been found desirable in the binding field to also provide a meansfor locking the (free ends of the ring fingers to the backbone toprevent opening of the binding when the binding is subjected to a shockload or the like. In order to retain the bound sheets within the binderl have provided a locking arrangement wherein e end ring fingers areadapted to be mechanically interlocked with the backbone. The end ringfingers have notches formed adjacent the outer free ends thereof whichare cooperable with complementary interlocking slots in the backbone tomechanically interlock the fingers with the backbone. These locking ringfingers are adapted to overlie the outer surface of the backbone and toextend through the interlocking slots in the backbone to be mechanicallyinterlocked therewith. As hereinbefore noted, the remaining fingers lieon the inner surface of the backbone to arch these fingers to wedge thecombshaped element within the channel groove. It will thus be apparentthat while more than two ring fingers may be mechanically interlockedwith the backbone in the foregoing manner a sufficient number of fingersmust be positioned on the inner surface of the backbone to provide asufficient force due to arching of a plurality of fingers for wedgingthe comb-shaped element within the channel groove.

It will, of course, be understood that other means for locking the ringfingers to the backbone may be effected as long as a means is providedfor arching a plurality of the ring fingers to wedge the comb-shapedelement within the channel groove.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide anovel means for interconnecting the backbone with the comb-shaped fingerelement in a two element binding.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for securing thecomb-shaped finger element to the backbone in a two element bindingwherein the elements may be secured together in a binding machine andwherein the elements can be snapped into place thus obviating thenecessity of sliding the comb-shaped finger element axially withinlongitudinal grooves in the backbone.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of anelongated channel groove extending along one longitudinal edge of thebackbone and a cooperating flange or leg secured to a plurality of ringfingers which is adapted to be loosely positioned within the channelgroove and thereafter wedged within the groove by arching the ringfingers.

The novel features which characterize this invention are set forth withparticularity in the appended claim. The invention itself, however, bothas to its organization and manner of construction, together with furtherobjects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmental pictorial view of a binding element constructedin accordance with the principles of the present invention which isshown as being used to bind a plurality of perforated sheets;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view through the binding element whichforms the subject of the present invention and which is taken alonglines llII of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmental vertical sectional view taken gorges? alonglines IIII but which shows the cooperation of the two elements of thebinding when the comb-shaped finger element is being inserted within thechannel groove;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmental plan view of the combshaped finger element;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmental view of the outer surface of the backboneshowing one ring finger which is arranged to be interlocked with thebackbone; and

FIGURE 6 is a vertical sectional view through the binding which clearlyillustrates the manner in which the interlocking fingers are interlockedwith the backbone.

The binding illustrated in the drawings comprises basically a backbone10 and a comb-shaped ring finger element 11 having a plurality of ringfingers 12 extending therefrom. The ring fingers 12 are adapted to beinserted through the aligned perforations in a stack of sheets 13 to bebound and is arranged to be secured to the backbone 10 in a manner whichwill hereinafter be described.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 2, 3 and 6, the backbone 10 issubstantially flat but has its longitudinal edges curled as at 15 and16.

A laterally opening channel member 17 extends outwardly from and isformed integrally with the backbone 10 and has an inner channel leg 18which extends toward the longitudinal curled edge 15 of the backbone 10,which forms an outer channel leg, and which is angularly disposed withrespect to the leg 19 connected to the backbone 10. The channel member17 cooperates with the curled edge 15 of the backbone 10 to define achannel groove 20 which is adapted to receive the elongated common leg14 of the comb-shaped finger element 11.

A notch 21 is formed within the channel groove 20 at the junction of thelegs 18 and I? and constitutes the acute angle formed between the twointegral legs.

The elongated element or leg 14 of the comb-shaped element 11 is bentalong its longitudinal axis as indicated at 23 so that a flange or arm24 is formed which is bent laterally away from the adjacent portion ofthe combshaped element 11.

It will be understood that the backbone 10 and the comb-shaped element11 are both formed of flexible material and that the comb-shaped element11 is so formed that the ring fingers 12 are precurled in substantiallythe manner illustrated in FIGURE 2.

The comb-shaped element 11 may be secured to the backbone 10 either bysliding the flange or arm 24 axially along the backbone 10 within thechannel groove 20 or by snapping the flange or arm 24 into the groove 20in the manner which will hereinafter be described. It will herein benoted that many bindings have in the past been devised wherein thecomb-shaped element could be connected to the backbone by sliding thecomb-shaped element axially along the backbone within cooperatinggrooves in the backbone. As hereinbefore noted, however, I have deviseda securing means wherein the combshaped element 11 may simply be snappedinto place and in which axial sliding movement of the comb-shapedelement 11 relative to the backbone is not necessitated. As a result,the comb-shaped element and backbone may be secured together in abinding machine whereas two element bindings in the past have notgenerally been so constructed that it was feasible to interconnect thetwo elements in a binding machine.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 3 of the drawings, the flange or arm 24is inserted within the channel groove 20 by flexing the curvedlongitudinal edge 15 slightly outwardly and by similarly flexing the leg18 away from the curved edge 15 of the backbone 10. As soon as theflange or arm 24 has cleared the outer edge of the backbone 10 theflange 24 will be snapped into the channel groove 20 by the resiliencyof the curved edge 15 of the backbone 10 and the leg 18.

Assuming that the free ends of the ring fingers are disposed on theouter surface of the backbone 10 the flange 24 will be positioned withinthe channel groove 20 in the 4 manner illustrated in FIGURE 2 and thebinding will remain in this secured position even though substantialforces acting generally perpendicularly with respect to the backbone 10are applied to the ring fingers 12.

In order to prevent the comb-shaped element 11 from sliding axiallywithin the groove 2.0, however, and to increase the load bearingcapacity of the binding, the free ends of the ring fingers 12 can be seton the inner surface of the backbone 10. By positioning the free ends ofthe ring fingers 12 on the inner surface of the backbone It) the fingersare arched as shown in FIGURE 6 to wedge the flange 24 within thechannel groove 20. By arching the fingers 12 slightly the flange 24 isurged to flex the curved edge 15 of the backbone 10 and this flexure ofthe resilient edge of the backbone 10 acts to frictionally engage theflange 24 to prevent the comb-shaped element 11 from sliding axiallywithin the channel groove 20.

While the illustrated embodiment of the invention is shown as includinga backbone having curled longitudinal edges, locking of the fingerelement to the backbone may be accomplished in substantially the mannerset forth above even though the longitudinal edges of the backbone aresubstantially coplanar with the flat inner surface thereof. It is onlynecessary that the flange 24 be so bent with respect to the adjacentportion of the finger element that the flange will be wedged within thechannel groove upon arching of the ring fingers. In this same connectionthe flange 24 need not be formed at substantially a right angle withrespect to an adjacent portion of the finger element to eflect lockingof the finger element to the backbone but need only be so formed that itcan be wedged within the channel groove upon arching of the ringfingers.

Furthermore it is not essential to the proper functioning of the binderlock hereinbefore described that each of the cooperating elements heformed of flexible material.

Thus, either the backbone or the finger element may be preformed insubstantially the same configuration as is shown on the appendeddrawings and insertion of the flange 24 into the channel groove 20 willbe effected by means of flexure of parts 15 and 17 or part 24, dependingupon which of the elements is formed of flexible material.

With particular reference to FIGURES 4, 5 and 6, it will be noted thatone of the end ring fingers 12a has a tapered end portion 25 which isnotched as at 26 to form a narrow neck 27 in close proximity to itstapered end 25.

A complementary T-shaped slot is formed within the backbone 10 inalignment with the finger 12a and is formed in such a manner that thebase portion 28 of the T-slot is of slightly greater width than the neck27 and so that the top 29 of the T-slot is formed so as to have a widthslightly greater than the width of the ring finger 12a.

The ring finger 12a may then be curled into the form of a loop andinserted into the top 29 of the T-shaped slot from the outer side of thebackbone 10 in the manner iI- lustrated in FIGURE 6. When the ringfinger has been inserted into the T-shaped slot it will remain in thetop portion 29 of the T-shaped slot until the neck portion 27 of thering finger 12a slips into the base portion or narrow slot 28 of theT-shaped slot. At such time the ring finger 12a will be positivelyinterlocked with the backbone 10 to prevent accidental opening of thering finger when the binding is subjected to a shock load or the like.

While only one end of the binding is illustrated in FIG- URE 5 the ringfinger disposed at each end of the binding in the preferred embodimentof my invention would be arranged to mechanically interlock with thebackbone in the manner above described although more or less of the ringfingers may be mechanically interlocked with the backbone as desired.

It should be noted, however, that it is preferable that at least some ifnot all the ring fingers lie on the inner surface of the backbone 10 sothat these fingers will be arched to wedge the flange 24 within thechannel groove 29.

It will further be understood that this embodiment of the invention hasbeen used for illustrative purposes 'only and that various modificationsand variations in the present invention may be effected Withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

1 claim as my invention:

A binding element formed of flexible material comprising a substantiallyflat backbone having curled longitudinal edges, a channel memberextending from said backbone for-med along one longitudinal edge thereofand cooperable therewith to define a laterally open channel groovehaving an inner leg and an outer curled leg, a elongated comb-shapedelement comprising a leg positionable within said channel groove andhaving a plurality of spaced curled ring fingers therealong andextending generally laterally therefrom, the free end of each of saidfingers being co-operable with the edge of said backbone opposite fromsaid channel groove to complete a closed ring, said combshaped elementcomprising fiat resilient sheet material of substantially uniformthickness, said leg of the combshaped element being laterally bent alonga line longitudinal of its length to provide a flange having a Widthless than the length of the outer curled leg of said channel and havingthe edge thereof in engagement with the inner wall of said inner leg ofsaid channel, the unstressed condition of said fingers providing aninterference fit with the inside of said backbone when said flange is insaid channel and the fingers are positioned inside the backbone wherebythe edge of said flange contacts the inner leg of said channel and theline of bending of the leg of the comb-shaped element contacts the outerleg of said channel inwardly of the curled longitudinal edge thereof andwhereby said flange is wedged in said channel to resist longitudinalsliding separation of said ring member and said backbone and resistinglateral separation of said flange from said channel groove whilepermitting assembly of the comb-shaped element in said channel bylateral movement.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,244,663 Adams June 10, 1941 2,314,204 Fontecilla Mar. 16, 19432,845,931 Kinney Aug. 5, 1958 2,910,068 Lane Oct. 27, 1959 FOREIGNPATENTS 729,537 Great Britain May 4, 1955 776,531 Great Britain June 5,1957

